Award Announcements

A/Prof Slobedman was nominated for a discovery which has profoundly changed our understanding of how the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can persist in a latent state for the life of the human host, despite the presence of a huge anti-viral immune response.

HCMV is a herpes virus which infects most of the world’s population. After initial (primary) infection, the virus establishes a life-long dormant (latent) infection. Periodically, the virus can re-awaken (reactivate) from latency, to produce a new infectious virus. Frequently this results in life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals such as solid organ and bone marrow transplant recipients. Despite the critical importance of latency to HCMV disease, this phase of infection has remained extremely poorly understood.

As a virologist, A/Prof Slobedman has focused on defining fundamental mechanisms which enable herpes viruses, particularly HCMV, to persist in a latent state for the life of the human host. His work has resulted in the discovery of a viral homologue of the potent immunomodulatory cytokine human IL-10, which is expressed by latent HCMV. He has shown that this viral IL-10 gene functions during latency to make infected cells “invisible” to the T-cells specific to controlling them. The virus thus actively evades detection during the latent phase of infection.

A/Prof Slobedman’s discovery provides a novel drug target for development of therapies to interrupt latency, and limit or prevent the devastating consequences of reactivation in immunocompromised individuals. It may lead to development of a live HCMV vaccine. Its potential for clinical applications has led to an international patent sponsored by Sydnovate, the commercialisation arm of the University of Sydney.

Further information about A/Prof Slobedman’s work can be found here.

The 2012 award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research is sponsored byThe Schwartz Foundation.

The next call for nominations for the Prize will be announced in August 2012. It will be for scientists working at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The award of the 2011 Prize was shared by two scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem:

Dr Eli Pikarsky, Hadassah Medical School and Assoc Prof Sigal Ben-Yehuda, Faculty of Medicine.

Dr Pikarsky was nominated for insights gained from his work in complex mouse models, into the development of human diseases. In particular, his work has yielded new understanding of the determinants of malignancy in testicular cancer; of the impact of inflammation on the progress of liver cancer and the regulation of liver regeneration, important in all conditions which damage liver function.

Assoc Prof Ben-Yehuda was nominated for her contributions to our understanding of the biology of bacteria. Her discoveries, which include the demonstration of a previously unknown ‘nanotube’ form of communication between cells, are also fundamental for understanding the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. This gives her work great importance for the treatment of infections caused by the growing number of resistant bacteria.

This is the first time the award was shared between two nominees. In awarding the Prize to be shared between the two scientists, the Prize Committee noted the impressive contributions both scientists had made to our understanding of complex and difficult diseases.

Further information about Dr Pikarsky’s work can be found here.

Further information about Assoc Prof Ben-Yehuda’s work can be found here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2012 Award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research will be sponsored byThe Schwartz Foundation.

The 2010 Award to Dr Rachel Codd, Discipline of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney was presented by Dr Jerry Schwartz of The Schwartz Foundation, sponsor of the 2010 award of the Prize at a luncheon jointly hosted by the Fund and the NSW Friends of the Hebrew University.

Dr Codd was nominated for the development of a range of compounds that may be effective in treating iron overload disease with orally administrable drugs compared with current therapy requiring intravenous infusion. The compounds may also have application in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, where irregular iron levels have been implicated as contributing factors.

Further information about Dr Codd’s work can be found here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2010 award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize
for Discovery in Medical Research was sponsored by The Schwartz Foundation.

In June 2009 the Award was presented to:

Dr Adi Mizrachi
Department of Neurobiology
The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Dr Mizrachi was nominated for his contribution to the understanding of synapse formation (nerve connections) in the central nervous system (CNS), and for the importance of his group's findings for the development of techniques of CNS repair. These new approaches developed by Dr Mizrachi's team are essential steps towards therapies which will allow the regeneration of brain structures from stem cell technology

The significance of Dr Mizrachi's work has been acknowledged by its publication and citation in many highly ranked journals, and by invitations to present his findings at many international conferences.

Further information about Dr Mizrachi's work can be found here and here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2008 Award to Dr Catherine Leamey, Discipline of Physiology,
School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney was presented by Mr Malcolm Turnbull, MP at a special event in November 2008 which also celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Fund’s inception.

Dr Leamey ‘s work was nominated for the identification of a gene, Ten_m3, which is essential for binocular vision and which has been shown to have important implications for the development of therapies for both visual and developmental brain disorders such as autism and mental retardation The award to Dr Leamey recognises the potential of her findings to aid in the development of new approaches in the treatment of these conditions.

Further information on Dr Leamey's project can be found here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2008 award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize
for Discovery in Medical Research was sponsored by The Schwartz Foundation.

In June 2007 the Award was presented to Professor Nir Friedman from the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Professor Friedman is a leading expert in the field of machine learning and its application to biology. Machine learning is the prime tool in the analysis of the vast array of genomic data made available by the completion of the Human Genome Project.

Professor Friedman's work was selected for its broad application to many fields of medicine. He was the first recipient of the Prize at the Hebrew University.

Read about Professor Friedman's work

The inaugural award of the Prize was made in August 2006 to Mr Mark Elkins, Research Physiotherapist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney who, at the time of the award, was a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney. His award-winning research established a new, low-cost, long-term therapy for cystic fibrosis through a multi-centre, randomised, clinical trial.

Read more about the project